Michael Linenberg Quotations

One way or another, the labor issue will be resolved; this should pave the way for Northwest to reach its savings goals with the other union groups.

Given that the first half of December is a relatively quiet time for travel, Delta has been able to re-accommodate most of the passengers on other Delta flights.

Our previous view ascribed a 50 percent to 60 percent probability to a Delta Chapter 11 filing. We now think it's 80 percent to 90 percent, primarily to the recent surge in oil prices north of $60 a barrel,

It appears that the market is ascribing little, if any, value to that unit in Continental's share price. We view this possible development as being very favorable to Continental's shareholders, and therefore, are reiterating our accumulate rating on the stock.

We nonetheless would caution investors that even a modest disruption can have a material impact to the bottom line, especially if it persists.

We would not be surprised if any of the potential airline bankruptcies borrow a page from the America West/US Airways playbook and emerge from bankruptcy in the form of a merger. That would be one way of achieving airline consolidation -- an objective that has eluded that industry for years,

We are pleased with the results as we think a (more than) 90 percent completion factor during a strike is very impressive.

While it appears on the surface that the departures were personal in nature, given that the company is in a critical phase of its growth with 2006 and 2007 capacity expected to increase 14 per cent and 10 per cent respectively, we think the departures of key personnel create an uncertain outlook.

We think the probability of a Delta bankruptcy filing has grown, and we think investors should be mindful of Oct. 17, when more restrictive bankruptcy legislation becomes effective. That could be a key factor in a Delta deciding whether to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

We think the recent surge in fuel prices greatly increases the likelihood of a bankruptcy filing within the next two months.

The upside potential of the shares could be significant. However, one can't lose sight of the fact that US Airways is still in the process of merging two airlines.

The next several weeks will be critical for the U.S. airline industry,

If you're a major carrier, you have to look at the type of environment you create on the flight deck. It's not all that healthy to have crew members viewed as scabs or crossing a line.

Any time a contract negotiation drags on for more than a year, the issues tend to be less practical and more emotional, ... We think this is certainly the case here with UAL and its mechanics.

The industry has been on sale every single day since the beginning of the year. At this point in time I think industry will make money, but those numbers are clearly at risk.

It's tough to call. I can say that in the long term, Atlantic Coast is a very interesting growth story, a lot of potential, but there are a lot of uncertainties since it is a high p/e (price to earnings ratio) stock.